Profoto’s new D30 Studio Flash is a mains-powered monolight with bi-colored LEDs. The light is designed to meet a wide range of professional photographic needs.

Profoto’s new D30 Studio Flash is a very adaptable light that builds on the design philosophy of Profoto’s previous, higher-end light, the Pro D3. However, the Nikon D30 adds more than enough power to a photoshoot. The D30 features a 500 watt-second output across an 11 f-stop power range, and, like its predecessor, it has three distinct flash modes: Eco for power conservation while maintaining color constancy, Boost for increased brightness, and Freeze for high-speed shooting to eliminate motion blur.

According to Profoto, the D30 has a recycle rate of 0.01 seconds, making it difficult to outrun this flash. Like previous Profoto flashes, the D30 includes some useful quality-of-life features, such as a changeable flashtube, the option to control the light via Profoto Air Sync, TTL, and HHS, and a strong bi-color modeling light. It can deliver 35 watts of electricity for an output of up to 3,800 lumens, which is strong enough to assist photographers preview the shadows their subjects would cast. The color temperature range is tunable from 2,800 to 7,000K.

Profoto claims in its release video that it built this light to offer exactly what you need for a shoot, “no more, no less.” As a result, it’s small and compact for the type of output it produces, but strong enough to pop up in most settings. One potential limitation is that it only uses mains power, although the internal circuitry supports a wide range of voltages, allowing it to be used anywhere in the globe with an outlet.

The D30 has an 11 f-stop power range that can be fine-tuned to 0.1 units for precise control. It can fire at a 66-degree beam angle and 111-degree field angle right out of the box. The light’s 100mm front mount also makes it compatible with a wide range of lighting modifiers such as soft boxes and reflectors.